Take a deep breath and don’t panic. It’s nothing to be alarmed about and this is why we have eased it in on this beautiful Tuesday afternoon in Cape Town. Unit two actually shut down yesterday already and we thought we’d now explain why you might see it puffing the odd bit of steam from time to time.

Obviously things have been a little sensitive around nuclear power plants and anything to do with anything going wrong with said nuclear power plants for the last few days.

However, you the great public out there, also need to be informed of these things so that no unnecessary hysteria is created because nobody told you what was actually happening over at Koeberg.

The majority of the mainstream media also failed to think you should know about this.

Eskom spokesman for nuclear power Tony Stott gives the reassurance:

We want to assure the public that perfectly clean steam will issue from next to the reactor during the routine shut.

See, it’s going to be fine.

After taking approximately two or three days to cool, the unit will be opened and worked on. Maintenance will include refuelling and general inspections as well as assessment of valves, pumps and high pressure components. Throughout the entire process unit one will remain operational and at full power.

The shut will last about 55 days in total, and unit two will resume operations in the first or second week of May. Once connected back to the power grid it will take a few more days before it starts generating electricity again, and up to a full week before it runs at maximum capacity again.

That’s only about two percent of South Africa’s total electricity production anyway so it’s not too big a deal. Stott did of course also remind us not to waste electricity and monitor our usage anyway.

[Source: TimesLive]

[Thanks Adrian]